I have walked several caminos since 2013 and am hoping to experience the Primitivo in September. Recently I have developed a nasty intermittent pain in the ball of my feet, especially the left side. As I am 76 yrs young ,it is probably arthritis. So I am just wondering about cycling a camino. I think the Primitivo will be too hilly. Advice regarding routes, preparation, books re cycling and apps would be most welcome. I am thinking of about 3 weeks and about 30 to 40 miles daily, Thanks for your help.
OK I'm going to chime in here. Robert, I'm 3 years older than you and have been cycling caminos since 2012. I chose to go by bike because my knees are pretty shot, and walking with a backpack to the supermarket and back would be a pipe dream. All my caminos except the last (2023) have been quite physical affairs – three VdlPs for instance – but despite my advancing age and impediments I have always found that riding a camino has been been an enjoyable and, up to a point, within my physical capabilities. However, after a 3 year hiatus during Covid I began to question that. Last year I cycled the Francés, but changed my approach. Instead of long rides – I was used to 60 to 90 km a day depending on the terrain – I decided on a leisurely and longer camino, very easy to do on the Francés with all the accommodation options. Some days I would ride 40km, and sometimes I would stay 2 nights just to have the opportunity to look around and enjoy my surroundings. A few parts of the Francés are somewhat challenging, and I recognised my limitations by occasionally sending my bag ahead and having the joy of an unloaded bike. Faced with the climb to O Cebreiro (definitely out of my league now) I booked 2 nights at a nice albergue in Villafranca. I took off and rode up to Las Hererias. Then I turned round and free-wheeled back to Villafranca. The next day I took a taxi to O Cebreiro. Cheating? Who cares it's my camino.
The interesting thing was that I enjoyed that camino probably more than any other. I was going so slowly that with my stop-overs I often reconnected with walkers that I'd met along the way. That was a first.
So, although after reading your initial post I was going to shout "Do the VdlP!", since you've already walked it, I'm going to be the only one recommending the Francés, (even if you have walked it).
You have a big advantage in being able to use the UK-Spain ferry. This year I'll be starting from Ireland – I have family there. I'm going to fly my bike from Oz and take the ferry from Rosslare to Bilbao. I'll cross the Basque Cantabrians to Estella and then reprise my leasurely Francés again. I'm thinking that I'll then take the Feve train along the coast back to Bibao... you wanna come?